The Dons (3-4 overall, 1-2 Peninsula Bay League) defeated San Mateo 5-2 on Sept. 24, winning singles one and two, and all three doubles matches.
In first doubles, junior Aretha Chen and sophomore Romy Pachtner played a third set that ended when Patchner hit an explosive overhead into San Mateo’s exposed back corner.
With a 6-8 overall record last year, Aragon tied for fifth place with Hillsdale (2-2 overall) in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division. At the PAL Individual Finals, current sophomore singles player, Jessica Fu, placed fourth, while in doubles current juniors Chen and Christina Wu reached the quarterfinals.
To get in some competition before the official season, Aragon defeated West Bay League team Lowell 4-3 on Sept. 10.
“It gave them some experience, so hopefully they’ll be ready. The win against Lowell is a good win for them. Lowell always wins the San Francisco championship,” said head coach Dave Owdom. “Then we played Lick-Wilmerding and that one we lost 6-1 … Our doubles all went to split sets, and only won one out of the four … but that made them better players.”
The Bay division teams are different for 2019. Finishing at the top of the Ocean Division last year, Woodside switched with El Camino. Despite Woodside’s dominant 2018 record, the Dons are confident they will have success against them throughout the season.
“I think we’ll be fine. I trust my singles. I think my singles players are [going to] be stronger, especially one and two,” Owdom said. “It’s just about having the right doubles. I think our doubles will probably be stronger than [Woodside’s].”
The Dons beat Woodside 6-1 on Sept. 17, showing their confidence on the court against this new competitor.
When it comes to facing top teams like San Mateo, the Dons are focused on playing at their best.
“[San Mateo is] a tough team if they have everybody there. Looking at our league, our one and two are very good players,” Owdom said. “They’re [going to] have a tough time against the teams that were ahead of us [last year] … Then it comes down to how we play doubles, if my number three can come through.”
Aragon will battle San Mateo, Hillsdale (2-2 overall), and Burlingame (2-2 overall). Burlingame has already defeated Aragon in a close 4-3 match this season on Sept. 19.
The preseason matches helped prepare the players for league meets and it also helped the players to get to know each other and build team spirit.
“I really like the community that we have on the team, just the players and the overall feeling of being on a team,” Fu said. “Everyone is really supportive and we all work together to improve and it’s really fun playing with your teammates and against other schools.”
The beginning of the season is also when players set their goals and find ways to improve.
In doubles, seniors Aarti Subramanian and Kasandra Rascon are refining how they work together during a match.
“On the court, probably communicating more when we’re doing doubles, like ‘Mine!’ ‘Yours!’” Subramanian said.
They are also strategizing on how to improve their game plan on the fly.
“When we switch sides on odd points, we talk about what we can do better,” Rascon said.
Looking forward, the Dons will face Burlingame at home on Oct. 15.
